Is Data on a Server More Secure?

Is Data on a Server More Secure?

I recently attended a San Diego Chapter meeting of the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP), regarding the security of cloud vs. on-premises. The event speakers included Director Level security experts from local companies, such as Qualcomm and Intuit. It was fascinating to hear speakers address the relevant topic of cloud hosting security concerns.

The early adoption of cloud was hindered by the fear of data loss and the lack of security. The funny thing I learned at this meeting was that the security concerns are about the same for both cloud and on-premises. Just because your data in stored on-premises does not make it any more secure than the cloud alternative. Whether storing data on-premises or in the cloud, people have the SAME concerns. What an epiphany! After listening to this discussion, it made perfect sense to me that a server in your office is just as vulnerable to attacks.

This is proven by a recent attack on our infrastructure at DSD Business Systems. DSD Business Systems currently stores our data on-premises. This didn’t remove our vulnerability in being hacked. Granted we had security procedures in place and were able to quickly identify and stop the attack, but it DOES happen. Most smaller companies like yours and mine do not have the budget or the resources to make an on-premises model as secure and up to date as a cloud model. I did learn there actually are times when it makes sense to keep most things on-premises. For example, that time is when you have invested millions of dollars in infrastructure…and you are Qualcomm…and you have a $30 million dollar IT budget :). But I am thinking that most of us are not in this boat.

On the flip side, Intuit discussed how the company has invested in Amazon Web Services (AWS) for their online products and certain infrastructure. Inuit has taken the time to work with AWS, so the security is constantly improving as technology changes. AWS is still the front runner when it comes to Infrastructure As A Service (IAAS) and they lead second place Microsoft Azure by more than double.

Now that the concern of cloud security has been lifted, it’s important to see that there are many other new advantages to moving over to the cloud. Why not give it a shot? There are still many security features that can be put into place to ensure your cloud hosting is just as secure as your previous hosting. So when are you moving to the cloud?

Kayley Bell


Written by Kayley Bell,
CFO & COO at DSD Business Systems

Category:
Cloud
Tags:
CloudCloud Hosting

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